The Queen with No Name

Return of the Ancestors, Book 1

De: JJ Makenzie

Narrado por: Shakira Shute, Will Watt

She was born to be a queen, yet she’s nothing more than a political pawn. With no name and no place to call her own, she’s doing her best to hold on to the only thing that belongs to her and her alone—her soul. A difficult task, given that she was kept alive for the sole purpose of being given to the formidable King Rowan of Northrend to fulfill the treaty signed by the three kingdoms of Greatland long before she was born. She must bear his heirs in the hopes of keeping the delicate peace that continually lies on the precipice of collapse. What she doesn’t know is that she’s not just the key to peace—she’s the key to war.

King Rowan’s entire life has been spent protecting his beloved kingdom and people. All he wishes for is an unassuming wife to bear his heirs and leave him unaffected. But the princess with no name haunts him with her beauty and unyielding spirit. Torn between breaking her and loving her, he puts his kingdom at risk each passing day he goes without a legitimate heir.

But there are more than hearts and souls on the line; danger lurks around every corner. Threats from within and without Northrend make it difficult to know who they can trust. The paramount question is this: Can they trust each other? Will the king finally name his queen, or will she tear his world apart? Her names comes with a price. Who will pay it?

©2022 JJ Makenzie (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Intriguing Fantasy!

The Queen With No Name is one of those sweeping fantasy books reminiscent of The Remnant Chronicles or The Books of Pellinor. I listened to the audiobook version and found it almost impossible to put down. I was completely drawn in to this arranged marriage story with a grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers vibe.

The story begins with the arranged marriage between King Roman and the unnamed daughter of a rival King only known as “Princess” until her husband names her. Rowan accepts the marriage for several reasons: one to forge a tentative alliance, two because he needs an heir, and three his princess is masked and he’s promised she’s nothing to look at. On their journey back to his kingdom, Rowan discovers his bride is unimaginably beautiful and not too keen to be his broodmare. As they struggle to gain each other’s trust, Rowan and Princess must deal with betrayals, political intrigue and their own suspicions of each other as well as a looming battle between several kingdoms.

While Princess is a strong, sympathetic character, I had a hard time liking Rowan at first. He’s gruff, brutal, and allows his mother to mistreat Princess. While he’s immediately attracted to Princess, his only interest in her in the beginning is to have his heir. Although he doesn’t push her for intimacy, he does allow her to undergo a lot of hardship until he realizes he’s being a jerk.

There’s a lot of political intrigue as well with his father’s mistress still in the castle, his mother who doesn’t like being unseated from her position, and spies in their midst. The ending leaves on a huge cliffhanger. I immediately had to pick up the next book to find out what happens next.

The audiobook version was well done and I thoroughly enjoyed the narrators. They really brought the story to life and I especially loved the way they voiced each of the characters. It’s a dual narration with male and female narrators.

While I enjoyed this book, it’s definitely more spicy than expected. J.J. Makenzie’s other pen name is Jennifer Peel who’s known for writing clean, closed door romcoms. While all of the interactions are between a married couple, the author doesn’t shy away from fade to black scenes, nudity, discussions of sexual intimacy, and intimate touching. There’s also some swearing, violence, and physical abuse. I’d rate it a PG-13. I wouldn’t recommend it to teens or those who prefer clean reads.

CREDIT WORTHY!

Being a serial listener I am very picky. I bought this on a two for one sale and took a chance. When a book brings out so many different emotions in me that is saying something……… SPEND THE CREDIT!!!

Liked it but also didn’t.

The writing itself is pretty good. The story is a little lacking.

*spoiler alert*

The amount of abuse and torment the heroine went through made me want to root for her.
On the other hand, the hero seemed like such a coward. He did not at all redeem himself. In the same vein, the heroine forgave him so easily for the cruelty and torment and hung on to every crumb of “kindness” he showed her. It’s very much like how women return to their abusers kind of scenario thinking they’ll change. And then all was forgiven. Like what? That’s it? For the amount of suffering she went through? That was not an equal exchange. And then all of a sudden they were in love? The chemistry wasn’t sparking. It just seemed forced.

Even in the end, Rowan who claimed to have loved her still distrusted her and immediately thought the worst of her. Despite the Princess showing multiple times she wasn’t a person to be distrusted. Sure she kept some secrets but to protect her life. Even Rowan’s own brother and soldiers could see that she wasn’t a person to be distrusted.

Will I still recommend it? Yes. It was good enough to keep me wanting to read and listen.

I love JJ Mackenzie!

I love this story, and read it when it first came out last year. I love audiobooks and when I saw it was coming out I knew I had to buy it as well! Shakira Shute does a wonderful job with the narration. I will probably reposted to this over and over again!

great book

this was a wonderful book! I am really looking forward to book 2. this book had everything in it . romance, intrigue, suspense, treachery, betrayal, I could go on

Fantastic!!!

Everything about this audiobook is 5 stars! The story, the performance, all amazing! I can’t wait for the second book to come out on audio, I’m dying! Such a great storyline, with well developed characters, intrigue, suspense and of course romance! I highly recommend!

A Phenomenal Story!

I will review this in order that it has me on the audible app, if that makes sense.
Overall: Fantastic! Just, right out of the gate, you are sucked into this world. JJ Makenzie makes it easy to get lost in this fictional world. It is fantasy, which I don’t typically read, but I will follow this author anywhere! Gladly. And she did not disappoint.

Performance: The Narrator did a fantastic job. It was a true performance. She did so well on doing voices for others and making it sound like legit someone else. 👏 👏

Story: Princess/Wife (she has no name) is pawned off to a king of a different kingdom as a political move. She was literally born to be sold off. Women are treated as the lowest of low creatures in her kingdom. But her fathers guard secretly teachers her how to protect herself. Enter Rowan. King who is now married to her. He refuses to play the part of husband. He will not let a wife get in the way of ruling his kingdom. He cannot afford emotions to overrule common sense. But Princess worms her way into his heart and emotions. The story plays out flawlessly between fantasy/suspense and romance. There are several villains in this story and you don’t know how it will play out. But at the same time, there is a beautiful story unfolding between Princess and Rowan. Princess is given freedom and respect for the first time in her life. It is just a sweet thing. And it ends on a cliffhanger, but the new book is out NOW! So no need to wait and worry about how it will end!

Fine though probably not for me

I think the romance between the princess and Rowan was interesting and had some dynamics that intrigued me however I'm not nearly as forgiving as the princess is. I found myself hating Rowan and his actions and no matter how much the book liked to tell me he is a good man, I don't believe it.

Also I generally do not like "story tellers" in books but that's just a me thing. The princess contantly going on long winded stories which are thinly veiled metaphors for the plot just got on my nerves after a while. Not my thing.

All in all I thought the story was fine but I'm probably not going to continue

Loved it! And HAD to know more!

I received this audio book from a give away a week ago... its taken me a week to write a review because I HAD to know more! My sister recommended this book to me when it first came out but I have a hard time sitting down to read with my littles so audio books are perfect! I intended to wait till book 2 was available on audible to read The Queen with No Name because of that. However, I am glad I didn't wait. This book is amazing! It goes through relatable challenges such as struggles in faith and falling in love. Listening to Princess and Rowen's story made me fall in love with them and want to know what awaited! The reader did a great job. And JJ Makenzie did an amazing job of writing a story that was original and captivating with twists and turns that kept you guessing till the very end. Warning- don't start this unless you're ready for an adventure you won't want to stop!
-Ali (my husband and I share an account, he'd probably enjoy it too!)

Holy moly! What an emotional ride!

When you get the opportunity to read or listen to a favorite author's book you take it and make time to do it. I'd heard quite a bit about this book from fellow bookworms so I dove right in. I've never gone to sleep with a timer on an audiobook before but I did with this one--I didn't want to put it down!! I'm not sure how to review this book without giving too much away and spoiling it for those who haven't read it yet, but here goes.

I'm going to call our heroine Princess because that's what our "hero" calls her. She hasn't had an easy life and it's not going to get easier. Her tyrannical and brute of a father has arranged marriage for her with the king of a neighboring kingdom. She's never met him before their wedding day and he doesn't even see her face (she's veiled) until they're on the journey back to his kingdom. Their marriage is to keep peace between their lands and the child they're to have is to insure that peace continues. Things are far from easy for Princess in her new home: she doesn't know who she can trust, almost no one is kind to her including those who should be and she's looked down upon. Despite all of that Princess remains kind to everyone and keeps any unkind thoughts to herself.

Then there's Rowan, her husband, the king. No character has caused me to feel so much rage as this man. I wanted to have him put in a gibbet! What kind of man is upset because his wife is beautiful? Yes I know he was kind of forced into this marriage too, and he has a lot to deal with (his mother being at the top of that list) but that is no excuse for the things he failed to do and the things he allowed to take place under his watch. Let's just say Princess is a lot better person that I am because I would still not be speaking to that man.

I've never read a book like this before and wasn't prepared for how much I'd care for or despise these characters. I definitely felt so many emotions during this book and had one heck of a book hangover for a couple of days trying to wrap my head around the ending. Speaking of endings, this isn't the end of Princess and Rowan's story, it will continue in the next book.

I love the dual narrators for female and male main characters and think both of them did an amazing job with all of the many voices. They definitely helped pulled me into the story and kept me listening for hours!

Content: The following is from the author... ***Please note that this book is a PG-13 read. It is raw and gritty at times. There is sexual content between a husband and wife. Nothing overly explicit, but more than my contemporary romances. Rape is also mentioned, but never depicted or described. Child abuse is spoken about as a past event. There is death and some violence.***